Council approves advisory referendum on same-day voter registration

After a lengthy and contentious debate, members of the Common Council voted in favor of placing an advisory referendum in the spring election asking voters whether they are in favor of same-day voter registration.

Mayor Tom Barrett had said earlier that he would sign the resolution if the council passed it. The advisory referendum would be on the April 2 spring election ballot.

The measure had been sponsored by Coggs. The question on the ballot will state: "Should the state of Wisconsin continue to permit citizens to register to vote at the polls on Election Day?"

While all council members indicated they were in support of same-day voter registration, some said they didn't believe a referendum was the best way to send a message to the state Legislature that same-day voter registration should be left alone.

Some concerns were raised that a referendum - even one that would be expected to pass in Milwaukee - could be risky because of the traditionally low turnout in spring elections. "You may not get the results you're looking for," Bauman said.

But several citizens, including the Rev. Willie Brisco, president of Milwaukee Inner-city Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH), and Pastor Gregory Lewis of St. Gabriel's Church of God in Christ, assured aldermen they would launch an extensive get-out-the-vote initiative to achieve a strong majority in favor of same-day voter registration.

As an alternative, Murphy had backed a plan in which the council would have gone on record in favoring of same-day voter registration. Murphy's plan was backed by the council's Judiciary and Legislation Committee, which met before the council meeting. But the full council never voted on Murphy's compromise measure.

The final vote did not come easy, nor quickly. After a two-hour debate in committee, the full council debated the measure at length as well, taking a handful of procedural votes. At times, debate became heated, especially between Dudzik and Hamilton.

As chairman of the Judiciary and Legislation Committee, Hamilton took exception to Dudzik's suggestion that the public had not been given a chance to express their opinion on Coggs' proposal.

The council was under a time constraint. In order for the referendum to get on the ballot, the council, under state law, had to send the referendum question to the Election Commission by next Tuesday.

The measure is expected to cost between $10,000 and $20,000 to put on the ballot, according to Neil Albrecht, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission.

Albrecht said that in the November general election, more than 54,000 city residents registered to vote that day. The voter turnout rate in November was 87%.

That won't be the case in a spring election, Albrecht said. He estimated the turnout would be considerably lower.

Gov. Scott Walker has said he favors ending same-day registration but later added he would not sign a measure if it costs $5.2 million over two years. That is the amount the Government Accountability Board has estimated it would cost to end the practice.

To date, no specific bill has emerged in the Legislature that would undo same-day voter registration.

"Across the state and in Milwaukee, literally millions of legal voters have used same-day voter registration to do their civic duty and make their voice heard on election day," said One Wisconsin Now executive director Scot Ross. "Same-day voter registration is working, and it ought to be protected, not eliminated for partisan political reasons as Gov. Walker and Republican state legislators have advocated."